TOWEL POWER THEY ALSO SERVED WHO ONLY SAT -- AND SAT -- AND STYLED

An observer of the UCLA bench this season could gauge the Bruins'lead in a game by watching what freshman Kris Johnson did with asmall white towel. Bruins up with less than three minutes to go:Johnson draped the towel over his head, letting the edges rest onhis shoulders. Bruins ahead significantly: He tied the corners atthe back of his head, making the towel a 'do-rag. Game in the bagwith time expiring: Johnson had one towel on his head and anotherover his nose, mouth and chin, leaving only his eyes exposed, fora look he called the Terrorist. ``When I'm in the Terrorist, thegame is over,'' says Johnson.

The Terrorist look was prevalent this season as the Bruins won 31games, 21 by double digits, giving Johnson ample opportunity toinfluence fellow reserves Bob Myers and Kevin Dempsey. Each put atowel over his coif after Charles O'Bannon caught a floor-length pass from his brother, Ed, and dunked to put UCLA up by 12 in the waning minutes of the NCAA title game against Arkansas.

However, the belief on the bench was that the championship wasassured because the trio -- known among themselves as the WreckingCrew -- sat in their winning alignment: Johnson sandwiched betweenDempsey, on the end, and Myers. Superstitious about thearrangement, they had guarded their seats during timeouts allseason, paying more attention to preventing teammates fromstealing their places than to the diagrams of coach Jim Harrick.Against Stanford on Feb. 21, Myers and Johnson switched places,with disastrous results. ``They went on an 11-0 run,'' Johnsonsays. ``We won, but only because Bob and I switched back.''

Also sitting on the bench, in no specific order, were two membersof the All-Name team: sophomore Ikenna (Ike) Chukuemeka Nwankwo(pronounced Na-WONK- wo) and freshman omm'A Givens. Nwankwo is ofNigerian descent, and Givens's name is a combination of the Hindumantra om and the letter A, chosen by his late father, Roger.

All five reserves played at least six minutes in the Bruins'92-56 trouncing of Florida International in the opening round ofthe NCAA tournament, and Johnson scored 10 points. But they alltook a seat -- and stayed there -- during the championship game,after which Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said, ``Without TyusEdney, UCLA is six players and a bunch of guys with towels ontheir heads.'' Maybe so, but now they're also a bunch of guyswith rings on their fingers. -- A.M.

Before he became the premier postseason performer of his generation, the Patriots icon was a middling college quarterback who invited skepticism, even scorn, from fans and his coaches. That was all—and that was everything